Last week I was privileged to sit in an audience of 1,900 Chicagoland high school students and teachers who have all spent the past several weeks participating in HAMILTON's unique education program commonly known as "eduHAM". It is easy to say that this was an experience that will stay with all who sat in the theatre that day for years to come. Teens are a population that often get a negative rep from adults, but this group literally blew my mind and reminded me that our future may, in fact, be in capable hands.
As most of the nation knows, HAMILTON, based off of the biography written by Ron Chernow, blends hip-hop, jazz, rap, Broadway and jazz to give a modern voice to the story of America's Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Fans of all ages have been singing the score, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, since it's debut on Broadway and it's still one of the hottest tickets in Chicago, where it has been calling the CIBC Theatre "home" since 2016. What most of the country doesn't realize is the influence music can have on the process of learning. By bringing modern music styles, especially rap and hip-hop, into the classroom it helps to connect teachers to their students and also connect students to subjects in a way a one-dimensional textbook just can't accomplish.
Lois MacMillan, a Master Teacher with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, explained that what the students accomplish during the course of the program is so much more than creating a performance piece. First, the students are given access to a collection of historical writings and once they select a specific piece of writing, they are then taught to analyze, research and learn it inside and out. Then each student has to come up with an original performance piece which they then perform for their own class or school. The top performance from each of the 29 participating schools is selected and sent to the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and then a hand-selected few are invited to perform in front of all the Hamilton Education Program participants from that area.
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So, Wednesday morning I sat in the CIBC Theatre and listened as high schoolers took to the stage and shared exactly what they had learned about the time of our Founding Fathers.
Three times during the thirteen hand-selected performances I had to look back to my notes to make sure what I was hearing was, in fact, original pieces of work by these young creative minds.
Twice I had to google a couple of names for my own personal American History refresher course and once I found myself wishing I could go back to high school and do things a little differently.
Topics ranged from the Whiskey Rebellion, Equality and Valley Forge to key figures such as Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, and Abigail Adams and the performances included rap, poetry, spoken word, and song.
Our emcee for the student performances was HAMILTON cast member Jared Howelton and he brought a tone which was fun and genuine to the day and I imagine he must have brought a little comfort to the students as they waited in the wings for their turn on stage.
Every student who took to the stage impressed me and if I must confess, many of them made my "mom heart' feel like it was going to explode right there in the theatre. Not just because they were able to get up on stage and perform in front of their peers, teachers and HAMILTON cast members, but because I remember what it was like to be a junior in high school. Starting to seriously consider what you want your future to look like and figuring out the path that may get you there. Four students really stood out to me and were kind enough to give me a minute of their time to share a little about themselves and their experience with the Hamilton Education Program.
Braden is a junior from South Bend and had a defining moment on stage when he stepped up to perform his original anthem about Patrick Henry. He took to the microphone and made it clear we wouldn't be hearing a rap from him today. His song built in the same manner as one could imagine Henry's famous "Liberty or Death" speech may have done at the 1775 Virginia Convention and the audience responded with an explosive standing ovation for his performance.
Following the student performances a Q&A session was held with members of HAMILTON Chicago's cast. Chicagoland teens were able to hear about years of auditioning only to have recently joined the cast and how you can use rejection in life as steps to your future successes.
The prevailing message to everyone in the audience was "Shine" - to shine no matter what people say and to remember that it is okay to see yourself as enough and that it is okay for your story and voice to be heard.
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As the morning drew to a close the students moved down the street for lunch before returning for a special matinee performance of the very show which inspired this celebrated curriculum and has inspired thousands to pay closer attention to the history of America. It was truly an uplifting morning and I am still in awe of the magic that happened inside the CIBC Theatre.
If you would like to learn more about Alexander Hamilton and the Founding Fathers of our country, you can check out HAMILTON: THE EXHIBITION which debuts in Chicago next month. The immersive exhibit will take visitors deeper into Hamilton's life and times. You can visit www.hamiltonexhibition.com for more information and tickets.
To see more photos and video from the student performances at the CIBC Theatre on March 13th, please visit Windy City Snapshots or the Macaroni Kid Chicago YouTube channel. If you have any questions regarding images or video, please email sarayaniga@macaronikid.com
To learn more about the Hamilton Education Program and Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History you can visit www.gilderlehrman.org
